for chase, part vii

keeping sending your thoughts and prayers to chase, and to his mom and dad, they continue to need all of the love and good vibes we can send their way. typically, i would summarize the highlights for all you. i am not going to that today. i think that you should have the chance to read the updates today exactly as they were written from his hospital room.

the name of the update is first, and then updates are word for word as they were sent out today.

+++ start of day 7 -  "Chaser lays resting peacefully on his right side. Heart beat calm and breathing consistent, covered in his favorite blankie that he has had since he was born. Looking at him from this chair, you would never know that a week ago today, his life had been taken, and then given back to us from God. Chase has been really struggling to breathing the last 3hrs. He still remains to breath on his own, but the fluids in his throat are really becoming a tuff obstacle for him to over come. He has been given some ativan to clm him and help him take a rester. Dad got his chance to lay with Chase for 40 mins. Man, was that awesome ! To think that I would even be able to put my arm across his chest and feel his heart beat in my hand again is an answer to my prayers. I know we have be using the term Warrior loosely in our journals, but after laying next to him and listening, actually feeling his determination, it defiantly fits him. I watched as his stomach went completely in and out, exposing his tiny rib cage for each breath he took- as his diaphragm expanded and contracted, i could hear the pool of mucus in his throat, and the groans of him trying to push it out to his lips. As if i really needed any more positive reinforcement than having all the prayers and positive energy we are getting from everyone?!.....this has absolutely convinced me, Chase is in it to win it!"

+++ mommy's turn - "As I sit here in silence and the boys are all peacefully sleeping I thought I would write alittle something. Since most of you know writing is not my thing and these entries have been a pretty big deal around here, this was my chance. All though this has been a horrible tradegy, something tells me that this has happened for a reason. The love we feel is AMAZING, it has brought people back to their faith and friends and family closer together and for that I am grateful. The famous three words "I love you" has been well overdue and has been used many times in the last seven days. So for that I am very thankful.

Chase had a come and go night. A few rough spots with fever and breathing but right now he is lying in his bed with his BB's (baby blankets from birth) wrapped around him and all the stuffed animals he has gotten as gifts and the care package that Tanner and Ava sent to him with his guy figurines, is sleeping. The vision is priceless. Hope for good things to come today.

Lisa

Everyone take a minute to hug your children today and tell them you love them!!!!"

+++ show us what you got! - "Chase once again lays peacefully on his back sleeping soundly, with his heart rate, and oxygen level exellent. The doctor has ok'd the steady use of Atavan, which is calming him down and helping him rest. We have doubled the dose, so hopefully it will last more than 45mins to an hour that it has been- Although it is great to see his fight, he needs to figure out this breathing thing, and move forward. He is not on a schedualed dosage of this yet, but it may come to that. He has been spitting up a little blood the last couple days, which we suspect are from when he bit his tounge on Thursday, but we are watching it to be sure. He has also been given some medicine to help his stomache so he doesn't get alsurs or any stomache issues. Chase continues to have temperature spikes every couple hours, but the tylenol has been combating. The neurologist report was the same as yesterday. We are continuing to see sparatic spikes in his heart beat, and body movement that lasts only temporarily. We are monitoring these, and if they continue, we are going to do another EEG test, to record his brain waves. Chase has been added pediasure to his IV, at a 50/50 dose. One obsticle to over come with this, is that he does't cough it up while he is trying to clear his fluid build up in his throat.
Chaser was given another live concert today, while we had some guests here. It was great for Kayla to be able to sing to her buddy "Cubby".We continue to be strengtend from your powerful words, thoughts and prayers!, as stong as we are, we really want to see a sign that Chaser is in there! Come on Warrior....I need a sign.... "

+++ struggling - "Chase continues to struggle clearing the fluids from his throat. One issue he is dealing with, once the Atavan wears off, he again becomes aggitated, heart rate goes up, oxygen level goes down, and he starts to squirm around. The doctors and we have been faced with the decision, keep him off the Atavan, and drain his throat whenever necessary or to keep him comfortable and give him the Atavan so the rests peacefully. We have decided to keep him off of this as long as possible- he needs to learn how to do this on his own, and we just need to monitor the situation minute by minute. His last dose was given to him about 9 am , and he been struggling since.

The nurses initiated another ACS session, but it was haulted as Chase spit up the Pediasure that had been added to his IV earlier. We had to stop the pediasure because of the fear it could get caught in his lungs and he could aspirate- This is a setback, because although the normal IV does provide some nutrients and esscentials, the Pediasure provides much more.
We are struggling to find the right recipe here, with his position, medicine, food, that will make Chaser comfortable, but still able to fight. He has become quite restless and really struggling with the mucus/pediasure coming up into his throat. His Oxygen level has really dropped, we are putting him back on Atavan to calm him down, and clear him out.

We did have a well needed boost this afternoon. We were able to meet one of the gentlemen "Angels" - and his family, that was instrumental in saving Chasers life! We are forever grateful for all of you being there in those critical moments to revive him and for knowing what to do. Chase continues to spit up darker mucus, potentially old feed, blood, we just do not know. The RN has ordered a Chest X-Ray to access the situation and come up with a game plan.

Our plan was to have another ACS session this evening around 8 and start adiministering Pediasure again after- we will re-evalute the situation
Sorry this has taken so long to get out, it has been very busy here in the room."

+++ we feel your hurt - "Chaser, the last several hours have been very difficult for you as well as us. We would do anything to take away your pain. You speak through your movements and we study and learn your vitals. We are desperately trying to understand you. I know that we will figure it out and that it takes time but know that we love you. The Captain has had several respiratory issues this afternoon. He is very irritated and struggling to breath. There are several factors to why this is happening. His tongue is still swollen and he is on medication for this as well as his throat. He is having a problem swallowing and the fluids build up. He has been vomiting lately which is concerning. We do not want him to aspirate. It is hard to explain how hard he is trying and when he tries so hard he works himself up. His heart works OT which heats him up. His body planks. Chase, we are here, living through your struggles, feeling your pain, shedding our tears. We understand that we can't have a rainbow without some rain. Your strength, determination and fight are what keep us strong. There are so many out there praying for you, thinking about you, loving you. We will beat this, your body will heal and we are with you every step of the way. We have changed your medication, we have changed the processes and we have prayed. For now you are resting and your vitals look good."

+++ a moment of peace - "Chaser is still resting soundly covered in his bbs. All is calm in the room except for the sound of his breathing and the oxygen going into the breathing mask. Now that I have some down time, there are a few things I would like to say to you.
Lisa and I would like you all to know much your thoughts, prayers and unbelievably kind words, are not only touching and embracing us, but they are carrying us through this. We both realize that this event that is taking place in front of our eyes is nothing short of a miracle. Everyone that believes in God, must live by faith. There are many people out there that do not believe in God because they can't see him. Well, I can tell you all this, he is real. From the moment I saw Chases lifeless body, lying on the cement beside the pool deck. With strangers gathered around him, pushing down on his pale/blue body, his arms and legs flopping carelessly into the air with each push..... I got on my hands and knees and begged God to take me instead of him....well, we are both here! And not only has my son been given back to us, but he is showing progress,I'll be it slow, but progress towards becoming healthy. I can assure you all.....God is real!"          

rest well chaser, i know that you are can do this. fight, fight, fight. you will come through this, i have no doubt. carry on little warrior, carry on. xoxo

for chase, part vi + carley + mary

there was good news to celebrate today for chase, carley and mary. i know that all of your thoughts and prayers got to them and helped to bring great things to each of them today.

for chaser, here is how his day progressed from morning through evening:
+++ chase had five hours of sleep and was able to breath on his own for about 4.5 hours. his lungs were cleaned out again and mom got to sleep near him the entire evening. he woke up with an elevated heart rate and rising temperature of 100.0. he seemed irritated and was packed in ice again. he tongue was swollen from biting it yesterday. the nurses determined that his irritation was from him filling his diaper (a milestone that needed to happen! yay!).
+++ x-ray results showed that his left lung had healed - yay!! his lungs were cleaned out again and his temperature was back down to 98 degrees. he was put on steroids to help with the swelling in his throat caused by the bacterial infection. he was taken off of the ventilator so that he could breathe on his own.
+++ big milestone - chase was removed off the breathing tube that had been in his throat!!:) his heartbeat was perfect and temperature was great.
+++ chaser was able to be out of his bed for 45 minutes in his mom's arms. he was completely breathing on his own too. they got to listen to a concert by a hospital therapeutic musician who gave them their own concert. so awesome!
+++ the end of the day was tougher. chase's breathing was hindered by the fluid buildup in his throat which aggravated him and caused his heart rate to increase. they were having to remove saliva and mucus every 20 minutes to relieve the build up in his throat. his temperate increased so he was given tylenol and packed in ice. they turned the room temperature down to 64 degrees to help fight the fever. his tongue was swollen and he was unable to close his mouth. his irritability is a good sign that he wants to get out of there! he was resting still and silent heading into the night.

great job today chase on new milestones. carry on little man, carry on. can't wait to see what new things you accomplish tomorrow!

for carley, she made it through surgery and is doing good. they only had to do the femoral osteotomy this time and they said it looks better than ever. the femur had tremendous growth since last year. great news - go carley!!

for mary, her scans came back clean!!! woooohooo!!! pretty sure that there isn't much better than clear scans for cancer patients. awesome news. gives me so much hope for mine.

thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers today that brought so much good to the three of them. xoxo

for chase, part v + for carley + for mary

thanks for all of the good thoughts and prayers that you all are continuing to send to chase. i know that they are felt in his room and he continues to fight on. go chaser!

here are updates from today from this morning through the evening:
+++ his temp was at about 99 through the night, and was given tylenol to help fight it. his vitals were good. he was clamping down on the respirator tube and lashing it with this tongue, signs that he wanted that tube out! i can sympathize with him, i wanted my tubes taken out too after my surgery.
+++ they removed more fluids from his lungs, and he was showing his spirit by lifting his arms and biting down hard on his breathing tube. unfortunately he bit into his tongue but was showing a lot of fight! his mom was able to lay with him and hold his hand for a few hours, and he shed a couple of tears to let her know he is glad they are there. the doctor confirmed cautious optimism for his progress. go chaser!

there was also a shout out to the individuals that helped during the first critical minutes of his rescue. had those people not had the training that they did, and know certain key elements that they performed, chase would not be here today. they were angels indeed.
+++ chaser breathed on his own for four hours, go captain america! they put him back on the ventilator after that to give him a chance to rest. his temp climbed up a bit so they had to use ice again. he got his lungs cleaned out. the bottom of his feet are ticklish, and he moves his feet and curls his toes.
+++ at evening time, his temp was down and no more ice. no tylenol or motrin had been needed for a while, so hopefully that fever stays away. he had some shaking on his left side so he got some medicine to control that while they figure out the cause and the remedy. during some of the events of the day, he bit his tongue hard in a few different spots. he got some more pt from dad, and mom got to lay and snuggle up with him again. he was laying and resting quietly tonight, fighting takes a lot of energy!

hoping for some big steps tomorrow and another day of good progress. go chaser! you can do it - let's head into the weekend showing those tubes and fever who is the boss!;)

carley is my cousin michelle's little girl and tomorrow she goes in for surgery. this will be her 5th surgery since she was 14 months old to try and fix her hip dysplasia. tomorrow she will have a pelvic osteotomy and femoral osteotomy.  they will cut through her pelvis and hinge it open and then take bone from another area and put it in the hole and screw it in.  it will help close up the joint and make a better shelf.  then with the femoral part they will cut her femur in half and take a wedge (shorten it) and tilt it into the new hip joint. she should spend at least 1 night in the hospital and be in her spica cast for up to 3 months, hopefully shorter.

please send a ton of good vibes to carley and her family tomorrow for her surgery as well as her recovery once she leaves the hospital.

tomorrow my melapeep mary, who also has stage iv melanoma like yours truly, goes in for pet/ct scans. she will get results tomorrow too. the scans are to look for any progression of melanoma, so far her right leg has been melanoma's favorite place to reside. i am confident that melanoma has hit the road and will nowhere to be round.

please send good thoughts and prayers to mary for clear scan results.

tomorrow is a big day with lots of good vibes and prayers that are needed for chaser, carley, and mary. thanks for all of the love that you will send them, i know that they will result in big steps forward for chase, a successful surgery for carley, and clear scans for mary.

can't wait to celebrate all of the good news:) xoxo

 

for chase, part iiii + continuing my fight

thanks for all of the continued good thoughts and prayers for chase (aka "captain america") - you all rock!

here is the update on how today went for the little fighter:

+++ chase seems to be responsive to him mom and dad's voices and knows when they are talking. his breathing and blood pressure were going well, and oxygen level was great. his arm was still swollen but was looking better. the doctor explained that since chase has not been sedated since monday, he should be showing more of a fight - like discomfort with the ice packs, pulling at the tubes, in general - just getting mad. so it was time for his "captain america" to come out:)
+++ the doc took him off of the blood thinning medication which was awesome, so they could start giving him meds for his fever every four hours instead of six hours. he was iced down again to get his temperature down. they put in a 2nd iv so they could take out the central iv which is more prone to cause infections.
+++ chase was breathing on his own for almost two hours - yes!! that is great because it helps him to build up his lungs as they are having to suction more fluid out to get the infection out. his temp got under control and his vitals were right where they needed to be. he followed a flash light to the left and to the right with his eyes which was fantastic. he also got started on physical therapy to help with stretching and movements.
+++ best news: he lifted his right hand out on command several times and grabbed his mom and dads hands. he also wrapped his fingers around their fingers. fight chase fight!!!
+++ if you would like to help the family, there have been two sites set up by friends to help chris and lisa. one to help with meals (http://www.mealtrain.com/view/?id=736T%2f4e67AM%3d) and one as a general fund to help the family (http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/superhero-chaser-fund-/51107).
+++ at the end of the day, chase made another huge stride. he finished breating on his own for an hour and 45 minutes which was the second time he was taken off of the ventilation system. that was huge since he is still fighting the infection and the pools of fluid that have to be pumped out of his stomach. he now has a airway clearance system to help with clearing out his lungs, and he doesn't seem to be a big fan as he lifted his hands a couple of times during the session. his vitals were good and tylenol and advil are helping to keep his fever down. he is surrounded by fighting sioux gear to rally him for tomorrow.

a good day with lots of great accomplishments - go chase!!!! carry on, little man, carry on. you are rocking it!

i have been sending chase a ton of my fighting strength and continue to fight at the same time. if i keep telling chase to fight, i of course need to lead by example. a lot of fighting vibes going on around here this week.

+++ we had a great easter, loved getting to spend the weekend with my family and all of the traditions that make our easters so special. as always, and even more now, holidays are so bittersweet for me. i love the time with family. i love the traditions. i love the fact that those are special days that only happen once a year. it is that part of them happening once a year, and that little voice that creeps in from time to time about the uncertainty of the future, that makes them a little (ok, a lot) bittersweet. but they are sweet nonetheless, and if anything, i love holidays more than ever and i try to soak in and capture every single second.

one of my favorite parts of easter is my mom's awesome (and i mean awesome) eggs benedict. pretty sure that i told you all about them last year. although cheese sauce, ham, and muffins aren't on my current diet, i had my yearly serving. i made myself a deal when i made the switch to this new diet. i would not pass up key moments in my life because of food. eating smores with malena is one example, i wasn't going to miss sitting by a campfire and eating smores with my girl. i wasn't going to miss one of my favorite parts of easter either. i am going to keep living, and living means that sometimes there are things worth eating that don't match up with the new plan. but that is ok, i am following the plan the other 99.9% of the time. i also had some jelly beans, and they tasted as good as i expected...and i miss them already;)

+++ it was time for my monthly dinner with my friend chris and we changed it up and went to a great vegan restaurant. our dinner was so good. love our monthly dinners, one of my favorite traditions. it is amazing to me to think about how many things in our lives we have talked about over dinner during the almost 15 years we have met every month.

+++ i continue to try new things with food, some i like better than others. but i am proud of myself for trying them and being brave in giving everything a try. the new one today was making a smoothie with beets in it. as my friend michelle told me yesterday when she tried a beet in her smoothie ("this just in - beets taste like dirt") it wasn't my favorite. but i tried it and i will experiment more - i have to, i have two beets left - why do they have to be sold in groups?;) this is what my breakfast looked like today....buckwheat cereal with cinnamon, almond milk, strawberries and a smoothie with a beet, spinach, carrotts, and apple.

another new veggie that i incorporated into my diet this week was radishes. i don't mind them but i don't think that i have ever bought one in my life. i did this week, and they are so good. i have been eating them on my salads and added some into my quesadilla last night.

my quesadilla had radish, spinach, mushroom, dill, kale, and brocolli with some avacado on the side. yum! i also made some roasted brussel sprouts and they were so good, if you like brussel sprouts, you need to try this recipe. you will thank me, and you are welcome:)
+++ loved this - saw it on kelly purkey's facebook page. i never knew i was a mermaid, but glad that i figured it out now.

+++ awesome wednesday with malena today. we got lots of rest, including a nap in the afternoon because we were both super tired. first nap in a couple of weeks. i heart naps, and always feel like i have a little more energy after them. we had a great time at gymnastics and at the park enjoying some blue sky (with our sunscreen on of course).

happy thursday peeps. i can't wait to see the great things that chase does.  i know you feel the same way. xo

for chase, part iii.5

for those of you that don't get blog updates via email and have already read the post "for chase, part iii" i wanted you to see the below info that i added after i published the post. xoxo

if you are on facebook, you can follow his page at "chase lykken" - you can also get updates on his caringbridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/chaselykken11, they read all of the messages to chase, you can leave a message in the guestbook letting him know that you are thinking of him. many people who don't know chase have left him messages letting him know how they heard about his story and to let him know they are sending good thoughts.

for chase, part iii

thanks all for you ongoing thoughts and prayers for chase, they are being felt in his hospital room - they said that the good energy is almost visible in his room.

there are a lot of updates from the day, here are some of the highlights from throughout the day from morning through the evening:
+++ morning brought a good visit with the rn who was pleased with chase's progress. the coughing and chase opening his eyes were a clear indicator that parts of his brain are functioning. his vitals were holding steady, blood pressure a little high (possibly due to the fever that he has been running). he was still surrounded in ice to cool his body down. they sent samples of the fluids in his lungs to the lab. 
+++ the neurologist was cautiously optimistic with the tests showing brain activity and sleep patterns which is fantastic (not typically seen in cases where there is severe brain injury).
they did a knee reflex text and chase reacted with a kick, and the brushed a q-tip over his eyes and he blinked. he also was doing lots of coughing - fight chase, fight! his brain is still in the active swelling phase which can last 3-5 days. he was breathing on his own and got some of his tubes taken out - awesome!
+++ he got a bath and was looking like a rock star;) he got a new feeding tube in his nose and they removed the ice because his temperature was where they wanted it to be - so great!
+++ chase got to listen to some of his favorite music (i sent him a note telling him that he should have his him mom and dad play "carry on" because it is a good theme song;)). his fever went back up so they had to put ice packs by his side. the labs indicated there is an infection in his lungs, but they aren't sure yet what it is. he has had a few spiratic eye flutters which could be a sign of slight seizures so they added anti-seizure meds to his iv again.
+++ at evening time, chase was resting quietly. his temperature was back down and they removed the ice packs. his blood pressure was good and his heart rate was a little bit high. he got his lungs suctioned to remove the build up.
+++ he got his lungs cleaned again, and he has a bacterial infection is his left lung. he has been put on a few more meds to help with the infection. as a result of the infection, his temp was rising again so they were hoping to not have to put ice around him again. he was back on the venilator to give his muscles a break.

hopefully as i write this update he is resting comfortably, and i am sure that he is getting his energy up for another big day. as you know, that is what fighters do. i am positive that he is getting to pick up his gloves to go another round. i have absolutely no doubt at it.

if you are on facebook, you can follow his page at "chase lykken" - you can also get updates on his caringbridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/chaselykken11, they read all of the messages to chase, you can leave a message in the guestbook letting him know that you are thinking of him. many people who don't know chase have left him messages letting him know how they heard about his story and to let him know they are sending good thoughts.

i will continue to post updates everyday about chase until he fights his way out of this coma and is on his way home.

keep up all of the good thoughts and prayers, they are making a big difference for chase. carry on, chase, carry on.

you can do this little man. xoxo

for chase, part ii

we need the good thoughts and prayers to keep coming for chase. he is still fighting his way back. today they worked on bringing up his temperature, and there were some good signs along the way. he was having movements that they thought may be seizures (apparently not a good indication related to chances of brain damage) but the neurologist determined that he didn't think that they were seizures (yay!!!). in the latest update, chase's temperature is up to 101 with a fever, so they are working on bringing that down by surrounding his body with ice. they are continuing to monitor him for brain activity. he is fighting and you know that we all love fighters. go chase!!

today on "enjoy the little things," the blog update was from glennon doyle melton (whose book "carry on, warrior" comes out today) with a letter that she wrote to her son chase. i am positive that the book coming out today and her post to her son chase were signs from our chase to let us know that he is fighting.

thanks for all of the good wishes and prayers you are sending to him in florida. if you see media articles (there are some in local papers around here) about a 4 year old boy in a pool accident on a disney cruise ship they are about chase. so know that if you see those articles you are sending prayers and good wishes to that special little boy.

carry on chase, carry on. we are rooting for you all the way - fight, fight, fight! we know you have this!!!